


Written in Your Heart

by Lily4499



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Character Death, Chronic Illness, Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, M/M, Male Friendship, Male Homosexuality, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28328877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily4499/pseuds/Lily4499
Summary: This is just a writing about Takeda and Ukai in 2020...
Relationships: Takeda Ittetsu/Ukai Keishin
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Im going to add to this if it goes well. There’s a specific and sad way I’m going to write this but we’ll see if I get the motivation. Until then enjoy this part. And if you have critiques please say so! I enjoy receiving criticism and am always looking to improve my writing.

The ball bounced against the polished wood of the court, signifying the end of the match, coach nekomata smiled from the other end of the court. Ukai groaned as Takeda sighed,

“Well, that was our last match of the day. I suggest you all complete the penalty and then come back for a quick meeting,” he recommended. The team nodded, walking out the back door of the gym. Ukai turned to Takeda,

“While we did win most of our practice matches, our defense was horrible today,” Ukai commented, frowning.

“I agree, our libero just doesn’t seem to have enough instinct or confidence,” Takeda added, looking towards the door where the team exited.

“Yeah, I’ll work with him on receiving later tonight,”

“Care to go out for a drink later to help your wounds heal?” Nekomata interrupted, walking over wearing his signature grin.

“You‘ll be the ones in need of healing when we beat you tomorrow,” Ukai shot back.

Nekomada laughed, “I'll see you at the bar then,” he replied, walking away.

Ukai shook his head. He knew full well that Nekomata just wanted some friends that didn’t get hammered too quickly like Naoi, “Well Specs, we better get to work if we wanna kick Nekoma’s ass tomorrow,” Ukai stated as the team began to walk back in.

“Right,” Takeda agreed, as they walked forward to make their post game speech.

…

“Well, on the bright side I think we made some important improvements during open practice tonight, however the team as a whole needs polishing,” Takeda stated as they walked to the bar.

“Yeah, the underclassmen keep making some small mistakes, mistakes that won’t fly in actual matches,” Ukai added.

Takeda nodded as they continued to walk in silence. The night was pleasantly warm, if not slightly humid. As they arrived, the coolness of the restaurant felt nice. Nekomata waved them over to the table he and Naoi were already at. Naoi looked pink and slightly dazed already,

“After all these years you’ve been drinking with us, you still can’t hold your liquor, huh?” Ukai teased, clapping his friend on the back as he sat down beside him.

“Psh, at least I never went blonde,” Naoi retorted. Ukai laughed for his sake, Naoi’s comebacks always got worse when he was drunk. Takeda sat down across from the two, next to Nekomata,

“Your team did well today,” Takeda complimented.

“Thank you Takeda, but flattery won’t get you out of this one. You know the rules,” He urged, turning to Ukai.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ukai rolled his eyes as he gestured for a server and ordered a round for the table.

“So coach, do you have any free advice on how we can improve our defense?” Takeda asked politely.

Nekomata sipped his drink, “I’ll give you some advice, let’s just see if you remember it,” Nekomata teased.

While Takeda never talked a big game, Ukai knew he was just as bad at holding his liquor as Naoi. He was as you would expect from a literary teacher: an overly enthusiastic drunk.

“We are going to do so well tomorrow! I can feel it,” Takeda exclaimed a couple hours later. His enthusiasm and red complexion signified it was probably time to wrap it up.

“I think we better be getting back, it’s getting late,” Ukai suggested, putting out a cigarette in the ashtray.

“I agree, you two go on ahead, Naoi here is going to need a cup of coffee before I’ll be able to get him up,” Nekomata replied.

“You sure you don’t need any help with him?” Ukai asked, glancing over at his hammered friend.

“Nah, this isn’t the first time, and it probably won’t be the last,” Nekomata finished, smiling.

“If you say so, well Specs, I suppose we should go,” Ukai commented, standing up.

“Right,” Takeda replied, getting up and finding his balance, “Thank you, for the tips,” he said to Nekomata, slightly bowing.

“Anytime,” Nekomata replied, gesturing for a server.

As they paid the tab and left Takeda realized the night had gotten cooler and picked up the pace slightly, “we should hurry, it’s getting cold,” Takeda commented, as he sped down the sidewalk past the streetlights. 

Ukai hurried after him,“Be careful Specs, the sidewalk might be uneven and your sense of balance right now isn’t the greatest,” Ukai stated, catching up.

“I’m fine, I can see alright, I won’t fall,” Takeda replied casually, and began walking backwards, “besides I can even-” just as he was finishing his sentence, Takeda caught his foot and went flying backwards towards the concrete. Ukai instinctively caught him, reaching underneath his torso. Takeda caught his arms for balance,

“That was close Takeda,” Ukai sighed in relief, “you need to be more careful...” Ukai paused as he looked down at his friend. Takeda was looking up at him; his eyes were wide and illuminated by the street lights, but his eyebrows were knit together as if he was deliberating something. Ukai swore the night got warmer just then, he cleared his throat awkwardly and stood back up, “be more careful next time,” Ukai finished, righting Takeda and continuing to walk down the sidewalk.

“Sure, sorry,” Takeda replied, setting his slacked jaw and shaking his head to clear it. Neither of them said anything else the rest of the way back to the camp.

“Big day tomorrow, we should get some sleep,” Ukai offered as he reached his room, in an effort to bring things back to normal.

“Yes, goodnight,” Takeda replied, smiling awkwardly and heading into his own room across the hallway. 

Ukai sighed turning off the lights and dragging his hands across his face. was just a fluke, nothing happened. They didn’t kiss or anything but he couldn’t deny that they had a moment. Regardless, they were both drunk and would forget about this by morning, he convinced himself.


	2. Firsts and lasts

As it turned out, Ukai didn’t forget a thing the next morning. The memory was crystal clear in his mind. As he went to the first floor cafeteria for breakfast all he could do was hope Takeda didn’t remember. The chances were low, but he felt a wave of anxiety hit him as he stood in line and got breakfast. Takeda had his head face down on the table, his food beside him was untouched. Ukai set down his tray and sat across from him,

“You have to eat, or the painkillers won’t kick in,” Ukai suggested. Takeda groaned, propping his head up with his arm. He looked strange without his glasses,

“Easy for you to say, I bet you feel absolutely fine,” Takeda replied, reaching to take a bite of his rice. His eyes were half closed as he absentmindedly rubbed his temple with his other hand. Absolutely fine? Not quite, Ukai thought,

“Well, tell me you at least remember some of Nekomata’s defense advice from last night,” Ukai said, figuring this would be a safe way to see if he had any recollection of his near fall.

“Bits and pieces, not much though,” Takeda admitted, stretching and putting on his glasses. Ukai breathed a sigh of relief and began eating as well. There was nothing to worry about, he was just being paranoid. It’s not that he couldn’t see himself with Takeda or anything, but he didn’t want their friendship to transform into something more. It might cloud their game sense and end up costing the team in the long run. They both finished their food and started walking out to the gyms. Today was the last day of the Tokyo training camp and both coaches were determined to make it count.

…

“Thank you so much for allowing us to come again,” Takeda repeated, bowing to the other coaches.

“Please, at this point it wouldn’t be the same without you,” Nekomata smiled. Takeda looked up, beaming. He turned to Ukai,

“Tell that grandpa of yours to stay healthy, wouldn’t want that old crow flying away just yet,” Nekomata teased. Ukai exhaled,

“Yeah, I will, thanks again, tell Naoi I said goodbye too,” Ukai waved as he walked towards the bus where the team was waiting. The assistant coach had gone to lay down that afternoon and had not returned. He was suffering from an excessive hangover though he’d never admit it. It was now evening; Takeda had hoped to start the drive back sooner but their last match against Nekoma ran late. Nekomata turned back to Takeda and began walking with him to the bus,

“Keep an eye on him, knowing his grandpa is so similar, I’m surprised you haven’t quit,” Nekomata chuckled. Takeda laughed, 

“He’s amazing,” Takeda admitted. Nekomata raised his eyebrows, “Amazing coach,” Takeda clarified, looking down. He was certain Ukai was out of earshot.

“Of course,” Nekomata agreed with his all-knowing smile, “Till our next practice match then, where we’ll win,” he finished, bowing.

“Till then,” Takeda bowed and entered the loaded bus.  
...  
The drive home was uneventful. Ukai decided to choose a radio station that Takeda did not consider school appropriate, but he didn’t argue. Takeda always tried to make efforts to be the cool teacher, but none of them ever really panned out.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this sensei?” The setter asked leaning into the isle, he was also a stickler for rules.

“Yes, I’m cool with it,” Takeda replied nonchalantly, focusing on the road. The setter shrugged,

“Okay,” he replied as he returned to his book.

Takeda suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he quickly reached for his heart. This caused him to swerve slightly. Only Ukai really noticed,

“Hey, hey Takeda, everything okay?” He asked, leaning over his seat. 

“It was nothing,” Takeda replied as the pain faded as quickly as it came, “just after effect from last night,” he glanced back reassuringly.

Ukai frowned, “if you say so,” he huffed, stirring back down.

Upon their return to the school Ukai had everyone gather in the gym,

“Okay, the spring national qualifiers are coming up and as you know we have about a month to prepare, so we’ll be working hard with you to polish your attacks,” Ukai announced, “You all have made a lot of progress, but we still have a ways to go if we want to make it to nationals,” he glanced at Takeda signifying it was his turn.

“We have a practice match next week against Date Tech, so I suggest you all get some rest,” Takeda added, “and remember to complete your summer assignments,” he finished, smiling.

They all bowed and promised to follow their instructions.

“Nothing the crazy first years back in the day, huh” Ukai commented as they locked up the gym, “I remember how difficult it was for them to study,”

“You should’ve read their book reports,” Takeda laughed, “But yes, everything is so different now, they’ve all come so far,” he looked off in the distance, reminiscing. Ukai glanced down at him, “hey, don’t go getting all emotional on me,” he stated seeing his friend’s eyes begin to water.

“I’m not!” Takeda defended, wiping his eyes and turning away. Ukai began to laugh slightly as Takeda frowned but eventually joined in. All of a sudden the streetlights turned on and both were reminded of the previous night. They stopped laughing,

“Anyway, I’ll try and schedule more practice games before the qualifiers,” Takeda offered, scratching his neck nervously.

“Yeah, and I’ll hold a few last practices this week before school begins,” Ukai replied. They both stood there awkwardly for a moment, “well, see you then,” Ukai finished, walking back to the store and waving.

“See you then,” Takeda replied, walking to his car.

…

“Nice job” Takeda said to himself driving home, “being hungover, nearly having a heart attack, and crying in front of him all in the same day?!” He dragged a hand across his face. He barely remembered the night before, only that he almost fell and some kind of angel caught him. Putting two and two together only one person could’ve saved him. It didn’t take a psychic to see that the incident had changed Ukai’s perception of him. As Takeda parked he realized he was ready to collapse from exhaustion and embarrassment, “I am just so smooth,” he said to nobody, slumping so his head was on the wheel. The horn went off and he quickly shot up.


End file.
